Broken Sword: The Angel of Death

The Angel of Death (also known as Secrets of the Ark) is the fourth game in the series, and is the second game in 3D after The Sleeping Dragon. Although you can move around using the keyboard, the point-and-click control scheme is back by popular demand, although it doesn't work too well.

The camera is quite close to the action and given the camera angle changes like it did in the previous game, you are required to use several clicks to navigate the environment. Sometimes you get stuck on objects because the path-finding isn't perfect and going through doorways is quite troublesome. Sometimes, clicking in valid locations results in a shrug from your character as if you've ordered them to do something stupid.

When they do respond, you will find there's plenty more puzzles than The Sleeping Dragon. The block puzzles and platforming are used sparingly which dramatically increases the fun factor. To replace the block puzzles, you use your PDA to 'hack' into computer systems which takes the form of a tricky puzzle reflecting network traffic through switches and finally to the server.

As always, the usual Broken Sword story is here, based on history, conspiracy, and mythology, with George Stobbart and Nico Collard somehow getting dragged in to save the day. George, now working at a bail bond agency, receives a visit from a beautiful woman called Anna Maria in regard to an ancient manuscript and explains that her life is in danger because of it. George agrees to help and is thrown straight into the action and is tracked by the Mafia. The adventure then takes you to Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, the streets of Rome, the Vatican and Phoenix in the United States. The story is good and complex but doesn't quite seem up to the standards set in the previous games. It starts off being full of mystery, but isn't immersive and tense after the mid point; and ends up feeling rushed.

The inventory system from the first two games is implemented, which means hovering at the top of the screen views the inventory, right clicking on an item gives you a description of the object, while a left click lets you select it. With objects in the environment, the left mouse button will activate a default action (for example, a left click on a character will start a conversation), while a right click opens up a context menu showing all the available actions. In previous games, once you leave an area/complete a chapter, all useless items from your inventory are cleared, but not in this game; which means your inventory is extremely cluttered towards the end.

Graphically, it's technically better with a huge increase in polygons compared to its predecessor, although personally, I actually preferred the brighter, bolder look in The Sleeping Dragon, especially in regard to George and Nico.

Rolf Saxon returns to voice George and as always; delivers his usual charm. The same can't be said about Nico, whose voice has changed yet again. I thought she sounds less French but she is voiced by a French voice actress! You can't skip the dialog, which becomes annoying when you select a topic which results in repeated dialog. Occasionally, the sound cuts off abruptly, and sometimes the subtitles linger on-screen far too long. The dialogue is great overall although sometimes gets stupid. I'm not sure if it is a film reference or similar, but here is an example of the stupidity:

George : These cutters... What precisely is your cut to death ratio?
Sister Serena: What?
George : The relationship between cutter operation aggregates and notifiable fatalities.
Sister Serena: Oh. Er...
George : Are the cutters safe?
Sister Serena: Oh yes. They're safe.
George : They're safe?
Sister Serena: Very safe.
George : Are they safe?
Sister Serena: Um... Well... No?
George : No?
Sister Serena: No. They are not safe.
George : They are not safe?
Sister Serena: No. They're dangerous.
George : Dangerous?
Sister Serena: Very dangerous.
George : So they're not safe?
Sister Serena: No, they are not safe. Not safe at all.
George : I see. But are they... safe?
Sister Serena: Yes. They are very safe.
George : They are safe?
Sister Serena: Oh yes. Very, very safe.
George : Good. Simple question. Simple answer. That's all I needed.

What makes it more stupid is that George talks to both of the nuns in the communion wafer factory, and then puts on a German accent which somehow convinces them he is the health inspector who is scheduled to arrive tomorrow! The game is mostly sensible but here and there it seems like the developers were in a strange mood. A prime example is the puzzle where you are tied to a chair and you need to trigger a chain of events domino-rally style just so that George has an excuse to push his chair over to the opposite wall to knock off an axe which falls down and cuts the rope that binds him. If the sequence fails, the strange guy trapped inside a box somehow resets the puzzle.

Overall, The Angel of Death is a good Broken Sword adventure and improves on The Sleeping Dragon in many ways but still has some frustrating flaws which mean the first two still remain the better games.